In October 2017, black-clad mourners gathered in Bangkok's old quarter before the cremation of King Bhumibol. A Reuters photographic record from 25 October shows mourners queuing as they arrived near the Grand Palace. Contemporary reports expected roughly 250,000 attendees, with some people waiting from the previous day in heavy rain to secure a place.
What distinguishes this queue is that people were not waiting for a ticket or product, but for a position from which to witness a national farewell. The ceremony would occur only once, and both its route and viewing space were finite. Waiting was an expression of mourning and, at the same time, a practical system for fitting a vast public into a ritual timetable.